A Kids Book About – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory

Caramel has already reviewed two books from the A Kids Book About ... series: A Kids Book About Change by David Kim and A Kids Book About Empathy by Daron K Roberts. (You can read more about the series here.) Today he is reviewing the first book in the series: A Kids Book About Racism, written by Jelani Memory. Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes, as usual.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, we just read the book together. Can you tell our readers what this book is about?

Caramel: It’s about racism. That’s what it says on the cover too.

S: That’s true. So what does it tell you about racism?

C: It tells you what racism is.

S: So what is racism?

C: Someone may be mean to someone else because of the color of their skin. Here is the definition the book gives:

“Racism means to hate someone, exclude them or treat them badly because of their race or because of the color of their skin.”

Caramel is rereading the definition of racism in A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory. — Caramel is rereading the definition of racism in *A Kids Book About Racism* by Jelani Memory.

S: The book makes it clear that racism is about treating people badly because they are different. But it also says that being different is actually good. Right?

C: Yes. Because if we are different we can offer other people more. Like.. let me read from the book: “help, ideas, strengths, skills, creativity..”

S: So what does that mean? Is being different better, like if you are different from others, then are you better than others?

C: No, that’s not what this means. This means if people are different from one another, then they have more ideas, they can help one another, and they can share.

S: Yes! I agree. I too interpreted that part the same way. Being different allows you to see things differently. And then you can bring a new perspective to a problem, you can share experiences that others may not have had, so they will be able to learn from you. And similarly you can learn from them. But the book also tells us how it makes someone feel to face racism, how people are sometimes made to feel so small just because they are different. How can you try and help people who are being treated badly because of racism?

C: You can try to include friends who look different when you are playing. Or when someone is mean to them, or exclude them from their game. You can invite them to join yours.

S: I like those ideas Caramel. A while back, we read a book by Sonya Sotomayor called Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You which was also about how being different can be a valuable thing, right?

C: And Marshmallow reviewed a book called Wonder about a kid who looked very different and so his friends did not treat him too nicely. A lot of people are different in different ways. And it is not nice to treat them differently just because they are different. Why can’t you just treat everyone nicely?

S: Good question Caramel. It seems like people are a bit scared of others who are different.

C: I guess so. But it is not a good thing to do that!

S: Agreed. So let us wrap up our review with your three words for this book.

C: Helpful. Because it makes me think about different people. And let me see. Other words… Hmm. Black and white and red and orange and brown.

S: Hmm, that makes more than three words, but those are the main colors that show up in the book. You are right. I’d also say it could be a good starting point for little bunnies and their adults to talk about some difficult topics. Because racism is still around us —

C: Yes, there is that one page where there are a lot of “racism”s copied and pasted all over the place.

S: That’s true. That is a good way to show visually that racism is everywhere, pretty visible to many people who have to face it every day. But then there is also a page with 242 “really”s, and that page was fun, right?

C: Yes. It was fun to count! We counted them together!

S: Well, we did some basic arithmetic, so hopefully we got it right. But anyways, I do think this book could be a good conversation starter. So what do you say to end this review?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel appreciated reading A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory and thinks he has a better sense of what racism means now. — Caramel appreciated reading *A Kids Book About Racism* by Jelani Memory and thinks he has a better sense of what racism means now.

Caramel reviews A Kids Book About Empathy by Daron K Roberts

Last week Caramel reviewed A Kids Book About Change by David Kim. This week he reviews a second book from the A Kids Book About series: A Kids Book About Empathy, written by Daron K. Roberts. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Okay Caramel, now that we read A Kids Book About Empathy together, let us talk about it.

Caramel: A Kids Book About Empathy is about empathy, as you can tell from the title. The author tells a story about when he was in fourth grade and then asks a lot of questions.

S: Well, he suggests some questions to ask when you are trying to show empathy to someone, no?

C: Yeah, I suppose that is correct.

S: So the book is about empathy. Can you tell me what that is?

C: Empathy is putting yourself into somebody else’s shoes. Not literally.

S: Yes, that’s a joke the author makes, right? He says not the real shoes, because that would be gross.

C: It is disgusting!

S: Well, not really. Sometimes when Marshmallow grows out of a pair of shoes, you could wear them if they fit.

C: Yeah, I guess that is true.. Still I think that is not what the author means.

S: So what does putting yourself in someone else’s shoes mean?

C: It means thinking about what they might be feeling and trying to understand and help them go through the catastrophe they are going through…

S: Yes, that is a good description, but it does not really have to be a catastrophe for someone to need some empathy.

C: Yeah, just hard times would be enough.

Caramel is reading A Kids Book About Empathy by Daron K. Roberts. — Caramel is reading *A Kids Book About Empathy* by Daron K. Roberts.

S: So what does the author suggest us to do when we see a friend who is in a difficult situation?

C: He lists four things to do. First take a deep breath.

S: Why do you think that is?

C: You need time to calm down as well as they, probably.

S: Yes, and probably to remind yourself how you are supposed to proceed next. Because if you don’t stop and take a breath, you might dive in and do or say things that may hurt rather than help.

C: Yes I think so. Then the second step is to listen.

S: How so?

C: Listen to them explain the situation or tell you whatever they want or need to tell you.

S: That is good. So give them some space to open up as they find fit. I like that. Then what comes next?

C: Ask questions. And the fourth is imagine. I don’t really get it though.

S: Hmm, do you get the asking questions part?

C: Sort of. Mostly.

S: So you ask questions that help you understand the person and help the person open up and share what they need. Right?

C: Yeah. I think so. But I don’t understand the imagining part.

S: Maybe read that part again?

C: Okay here it is:

“Maybe the exact same thing happened to you, or maybe you’ve never even had a dog. Try to imagine, and put yourself in their shoes to feel what they feel.”
Daron K. Roberts, A Kids Book About Empathy.

S: So does that make sense? Do you understand why imagining can be a good thing to do?

C: I guess it makes sense to try and help them…

S: or at least have them feel heard. When you try to imagine what they might be feeling, you may not solve their problems, but at least maybe they will feel like someone is on their side.

C: Yes, exactly.

S: Okay, so did you learn something new from this book?

C: I knew what empathy meant, more or less, but I did not know the four steps. I didn’t know exactly how to show it to my friends.

S: I like those four steps too Caramel.

C: I wish I had read this book earlier. One of my classmates’ grandmother died and I didn’t know what to do.

S: Do you think you know what to do now?

C: Yep. I will take a breath, listen, ask questions and then I put myself in their shoes.

S: Yes, you could imagine how difficult it would be to lose someone you love.

C: Yes, I don’t like to think about such things. But empathy says I have to try if I want to be a good friend.

S: Yes. I agree. Empathy can be hard for many reasons, but one of the reasons is that it can also lead us to difficult places. Still I am glad we read this book together Caramel. What three words would you use to describe this book?

C: Three words… Colorful, because it is colorful. Helpful. And empathy. That’s a word!

S: Yes, you used those two words, colorful and helpful, for the book about change!

C: Yes, because both words work for both books!

S: I agree. So let us wrap this up now. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel appreciated reading A Kids Book About Empathy by Daron K. Roberts together with Sprinkles and encourages other little bunnies to read it together with a favorite big bunny. — Caramel appreciated reading *A Kids Book About Empathy* by Daron K. Roberts together with Sprinkles and encourages other little bunnies to read it together with a favorite big bunny.

Caramel reviews A Kids Book About Change by David Kim

Today Caramel wanted to talk about a book he read in the A Kids Book About series: A Kids Book About Change by David Kim. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell me about this book.

Caramel: This book is in the first person.

S: What do you mean?

C: The author says things like “I did blah blah”.

S: So yes, the author is talking about his own experiences and using the “I” pronoun. He is also using the “you” pronoun a lot, right?

C: Yes. He is talking to the reader, asking questions, like, “When a change happened were you scared or excited?” and so on.

S: So what is the book about then?

C: Well, it’s about change, it says so in the title. He talks about how things changed in his life when he was a kid.

Caramel is reading A Kids Book About Change by David Kim. — Caramel is reading *A Kids Book About Change* by David Kim.

S: And then he asks the reader to think about times when things changed for them, right? Can you think of a time when something changed in yours?

C: Sure. Every single day!

S: What do you mean?

C: In every bunny’s life something changes every single day.

S: For example…?

C: I read a different book almost every day.

S: But the book is about somewhat more important changes, I think.

C: Yes I guess so.

S: So can you think of a big change that affected you?

C: Being born.

S: I doubt you remember that though. So anything closer to today?

C: Distance learning. When the pandemic hit, my school (and it is also Marshmallow’s school) moved to distance learning.

S: Yes, that was a big change. So the author of the book wants you to think about this change. How did you feel? He lists a bunch of words for you to think about: Were you scared? excited? Sad?

C: I was sad. I am still sad. I miss being with my friends in our school.

S: I know. It is very hard. What does the book suggest you do when you are going through a change?

C: We can “resist change” or “ignore change”, but the author wants us to “embrace change”.

S: Hmm, what does that mean?

C: I think it means don’t fight it, take it.

S: Hmm, so what does it mean in your case, about moving to distance learning?

C: Eventually I started liking some parts of it actually. My teacher makes things a lot of fun, and she sometimes gives us little gifts when we go to pick up materials. And we also start school a bit later, which is nice, I get to sleep more! I also can share some of my Lego things which I could not take to school before.

S: But you still miss your friends and your teacher, a lot, don’t you?

C: Yes.

S: But you have embraced this change, I think. You are trying to see the good things, and trying not to get stuck complaining about the bad things.

C: Yes, and we are doing this so we can all stay healthy.

S: So then, this seems to resonate with the moral of this book. What would you say that that is? What is the main message of this book?

C: Don’t fight against change…

S: … and I think another important message is to talk to people who will listen when you are worried about a change.

C: And in my case that was you Sprinkles.

S: Thank you for sharing with me Caramel. I think you are handling this big change as well as any little bunny can. Did reading this book make you think of anything else?

C: What do you mean?

S: How about impermanence?

C: No, not impermanence, again!

S: I know. You and Marshmallow always complain when we are listening to wakeup videos on our meditation app, and they turn out to be about impermanence. Here is one we liked, about the seventy-two microseasons in traditional Japanese calendar:

“Mindfulness and impermanence — There are 72 Japanese micro-seasons in a year, each lasting about 5 days. With names like “mist starts to linger” or “east wind melts the ice,” these micro-seasons root people in their surroundings and focus on the repeated patterns of nature’s cycles.” YouTube video from the Headspace channel.

C: They are all about impermanence! And especially Marshmallow does not like that.

S: Yes, but the point of those videos is almost the same as this book, right? That change is always happening, and to everyone?

C: Yes, in those videos they say: “an idea so important to mindfulness: impermanence, that is, that everything is changing in our minds, our bodies and the world around us.”

S: So change is the only constant, as an old philosopher once said. Then we’d better get used to it, and learn how to handle it well.

C: Impermanence is permanent!

S: Yes, that is true. So let us wrap this up then. What doesn’t change in our reviews is that I ask you to give me three words that describe this book.

C: Yes, you do always ask me that! Let me see. Colorful, because the letters are colorful.

S: It almost reminds me of The Book With No Pictures that you had reviewed before.

C: True. There are not many pictures in this one, either. There is only a picture of a bowl with some Korean food in it and a plate with a sandwich.

S: Yep, that is kind of why I thought of that book you reviewed before. Okay, you need to give me two more words…

C: Helpful… and impermanence!

S: I guess that last one needed to make it in, right? Okay, then. Let us call it done. What do you want to say to our readers as we end?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunnies reviews!

Caramel appreciated reading A Kids Book About Change by David Kim, and recommends it to all other little bunnies who might be facing changes in their lives (which is actually every single one of them, so yeah, this is a good book for all little bunnies...) — Caramel appreciated reading *A Kids Book About Change* by David Kim, and recommends it to all other little bunnies who might be facing changes in their lives (which is actually every single one of them, so yeah, this is a good book for all little bunnies…)